Chelsea have agreed to sign Portuguese forward Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid permanently, according to The Athletic.
The 24-year-old described by Aston Villa manager Unai Emery as a special player will pen a six-year contract at Stamford Bridge with the option of another 12 months.
The deal ends months of speculation surrounding the former Benfica attacker, who impressed during a loan spell with the Blues in the second half of the 2022/23 season.
Felix joined Atletico from the Portuguese giants for €126 million but never kicked on in Spain. Besides Chelsea, he spent last on loan at Barcelona, blowing hot and cold. Due to their dilapidating finances, the Catalans could not make his signing permanent.
On the other hand, Chelsea have been shelling money in the transfer market with reckless abandon and will now complete a deal to sign the Atletico star.
The Felix deal will pave the way for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher to join Atletico.
The English international was supposed to join Los Colchoneros after a €42 million fee had been agreed between the two clubs. However, Chelsea pulled out of negotiations to sign Atletico’s Samu Omorodion, leaving the Gallagher deal in limbo.
Atletico offered Felix, and Chelsea were eager to bite as the sporting directors wanted to bring him to the club. They were reportedly keen on keeping him beyond his loan spell, but former boss Mauricio Pochettino was not a fan.
Chelsea got a second bite at the cherry and have quickly secured a deal for the Viseu-born forward as they look to re-establish themselves as title contenders after successive uninspiring seasons.
The Blues got their Premier League campaign underway with a 2-0 home loss to champions Manchester City. There were signs of improvement under new boss Enzo Maresca, but the Stamford Bridge faithful were left unimpressed, with groans and moans erupting around the stadium.
Next up, Chelsea begin their Europa Conference League qualifiers with a clash against Swiss outfit Servette FC before an away trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
